So you’re the new Japanese prime minister, eh? There’s an app for that!

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On Friday the Japanese prime minister’s office unveiled smartphone apps for Android and iOS, with aim of giving the country’s leader more reach to among Japanese nationals. It uses a smartphone app framework called News Agent, which was developed by Tokyo-based smartphone app developer Brave Soft. The end result gives smartphone users easy access to announcements from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as well as a stream of news photos from summits and diplomatic conferences he has been attending.

The app has no especially impressive features from a technical point of view, and often redirects you to the PMO’s Facebook page or Abe’s own Facebook page. However, for the younger generation who don’t subscribe to physical newspapers or watch TV news shows, it could be a good touch point for them to stay up to speed on Japanese politics. In addition, when the government has an important announcement, it will be published on the app as an official update from the prime minister, and you’ll get a notification as well.

Last October, the PMO has set up an account on the Line messaging platform, which gives access to potentially over 40 million Japanese people, almost one-third of Japan’s entire population.

On a related note, here’s some mobile apps published by governmental offices in other countries:

  • USA: The White House app  ( iOS / Android )
  • UK: Official Number 10 app ( iOS )
  • Korea: Presidential Office “Cheong Wa Dae” app ( iOS / Olleh / TStore )